Teenage clubbers suspected of drinking are getting breathalysed at a Newcastle club in a bid to crackdown on underage boozing.

Young revellers heading to one of the city’s busiest nightspots, the O2 Academy, will be breath tested on the doors if they appear drunk.

Steve Hoyland, a divisional manager at Academy Music Group who runs the Westgate Road club, said: “There is an underage drinking problem in Newcastle – not specifically at our venue, but across the whole city.

“What we have found happening is because we have an all-age licence, we had some 14-18 year-olds turning up to events intoxicated.

“Certain types of show introduce attract younger audiences, and it is a move to protect ourselves, themselves, and the rest of our customers.

“Police are concerned about anti-social behaviour in the city centre, so we’re doing our bit as one of the biggest venues in Newcastle to eradicate the problem.”

The new breathalyser to detect underage drinking at the O2 Academy in Newcastle

Mr Hoyland explained the policy has already been rolled out at the group’s Glasgow venue in response to the same issue.

The likes of All Time Low, Busted, and Sigala are all scheduled to perform at the popular nightspot in the coming months.

And a statement published on the venue’s Facebook page reads: “Please note we have a breathalyser policy in place at our events.

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“Anyone under the age of 18 believed to have consumed alcohol will have to pass to be admitted entry.

“Anyone failing or refusing the test will not gain entry and will not be eligible for a refund.”

Showsec security staff member Andy with the new breathalyser to detect underage drinking at the O2 Academy in Newcastle

Colin Shevills, Director of Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, said: “The official advice is that it’s safest for young people to avoid drinking alcohol altogether and we need to reinforce the message that a good night out doesn’t need to involve alcohol.

“Indeed, increasing numbers of children and young people are choosing not to drink.

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“But, we know that underage drinking is still a big problem and ‘pre-loading’, which involves getting drunk on cheap alcohol before going out, can have an immediate effect on people’s safety. Drinking too much makes people, whatever their age, more vulnerable and increases the likelihood of taking risky decisions, getting into fights or ending an evening in A&E.

“The most effective way to reduce drinking amongst children still further would be to stop selling alcohol at pocket money prices in off licences and supermarkets – that means introducing a minimum unit price which would raise the price of products like cheap vodka and big plastic bottles of white cider while leaving pub prices untouched.”